Curious to see how DA-ers approach the media room issue -- integrating these huge honking flat screens into MCM interiors. We finally took the big screen plunge last fall -- ran the cables through the walls and hid all the gear inside a Nils Jonsson sideboard from Troeds. Found a pair of Danish teak tables on eBay to use as as speaker stands, stuck a Bojesen monkey on top, and hey presto we were done.
We told the salesman at Best Buy that we wanted a 46 in screen because of its proportions to the wall and the cabinet. He thought that was the craziest thing he had ever heard in his life ....
To be honest, there isn't...
To be honest, there isn't anywhere I can 'hide' mine so it's sat on top of a Florence Knoll credenza. It doesn't look too bad and doesn't really bother me to be honest. I believe times change and technology has moved on, I enjoy my hifi/tv too much to be concerned about hiding it due to aesthetic reasons.
I'm working through this issue right now...
and preparing to solve the audio portion with IN-CEILING speakers. The video portion will be solved, most likely, with a projector. A projector not for the purpose having a huge picture, but so that there is NOTHING on the wall at all. The plan is to have a screen recessed into a "soffit" that is already a feature in the room. All of the audio components and Mac Mini will be COMPLETELY out of sight in a hidden cabinet and accessed via an RF remote. I'll find this thread and provide some pics once the first part is complete...I say "find this thread" because I anticipate it being off the first page before I'm finished. I have all the speakers and components, now just waiting to get some electric run to the cabinet and then it's time to climb into the attic!!
MCM room is for audio not video
No television in our MCM room as of yet. The wife wants a flat screen, but I'll only do it if we have a small enough one that fits within the Cado Wall Unit verticals. We don't watch too much t.v. so it's not much of an issue. Finding the right depth shelves to fit my Sansui Receiver Seven and Sony ES CD player wasn't too much of a challenge. I need the Cado desk to fit the turntable though.
Everything will be put together once our move later this Summer is complete.
same as flyingpatricio
while i dont have a flat screen OR a modular wall unit...i intend to obtain both and wall-mount the flat screen in between the uprights of the wall unit...nothing crazy huge obviously...but for now, a tube t.v. on top of an ol' round lane acclaim table does fine, im on a tight budget!!! the table was $25 and the tv was bought from a "street entrepeneuer" in Venice, CA for $10{spliced cord and all}.....maybe if i can find that damned dumpster everyones been diggin' in.......
Our solution was much the same as
taptaptap and mdcounts. Sideboard hiding equipment and TV proportional to it (42"). Since we built the house for us we were able to put wall mounted speakers and get the wiring all hidden.
The speakers we went with are by Orb Audio. They sound great and disappear on the wall.
Good topic.
I'm with fastfwd, I guess -- I got my first flat-screen less than two years ago, a 19" with disc player that fits my living room cabinetry, built twenty years ago to house a 13" CRT. (I don't yet use that screen as a desktop. How's that working, DudeDah ?) I'm not convinced I'd be happier with a larger screen -- at least, after I have cataract surgery in a year or two ! (Wait for it -- the commonest procedure in the Medicare system, they tell me. Fuzzy vision that gets progressively worse; the remedy is a replacement lens. Yow !)
Good solutions, all. Keep em coming. I don't see any aesthetic faux pas, so far . . .
Standard
The functionalist/environmentalist in me insisted that I wouldn't get a flat screen until the old tube telly went by the wayside.
Luckily for my bf (who is not so eco conscious) our friends insisted on giving us the flatscreen from their bathroom (srsly). At 23" it's puny compared to most of our peers'. Seriously, who needs to watch Law and Order on a 60" screen?
We went the standard way - even with the old TV. I found a pair of small walnut credenzas on Craigslist. They were everything I wanted: cheap - only $60 for the pair, decent enough construction - but not so nice that I felt bad chopping a hole in the back, and most importantly they have sliding doors ala McCobb. I didn't want swing doors because of how they intrude into the room.
The biggest problem I have with flat screens is the blackness - a giant gleaming slab eating up a wall. In my living room its tucked into a corner and balanced by chairs with black upholstery.
Will post pictures when I can.
T.V.s are generally an eyesore...
Unless you can retrofit a new t.v. into an old 50's model body you aren't going to find an appealing looking television. They aren't like silver faced or McIntosh beauties of the audio world.
Televisions don't have this sort of style...Marantz Imperial 5 with wood grills. They'll sit either side of the Cado once everything is set up.
the eyesore problem
Yes, absolutely these big-screens are ugly! All the manufacturers seem to offer the same cheesy glossy plastic black finish, which they try to tart up as "piano black" or some such. Hopefully they'll evolve ....
We chose the Sony (first pic) partly because it was the least ugly when it was off, just being a black slab on the wall. In fact we made the Best Buy salesman turn off all the tvs on the wall so we could compare. He thought we were nuts, but seriously, the thing is off in our house a lot more than it's on.
@ mdcounts --your setup looks great -- it took me a while to finally mount the thing on the wall, but it made a huge difference. Instead of just squatting there on the mount it now seems to float -- it lightens the "big black slab" effect a lot -- well worth the effort!
I also agree with fstfwd, sma...
I also agree with fstfwd, small is the way to go. I have a 20" flat screen. I also don't have any seating facing the TV -- I hate how that looks. Even if you watch a ton of TV, at least make it look like you're living room is set up for conversation 🙂
Okay, I've listened in silence long enough--
Thus far the conversation's been subtly alluding to it, but Gene came out with a bona fide declaration of TV Snobbery:
"Even if you watch a ton of TV, at least make it look like you're living room is set up for conversation."
Why should one pretend for the sake of appearance, Gene? This is no different than concealing electronics within an antique armoire, or buying books by the yard to appear literate.
If you think a TV worthy of owning & worthy of watching, why all the anxiety? Afraid that visitors will assume you're a mouth-breathing prole glued to 50" TV twenty-four/ seven? (Perish the thought!)
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